Today, the Republic of Tunisia closed on its offering of a $500 million sovereign bond issuance guaranteed by the United States of America, acting through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Today, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah announced over $4.8 million this year to fund programs in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Tanzania, and Yemen to end child, early, and forced marriage. Congressional leaders have also recognized the importance of these efforts, and USAID will work alongside lawmakers to increase the agency’s support next year to prevent child, early, and forced marriage. These efforts will also leverage $32 million as part of integrated USAID programs to address democracy and governance, early grade reading, and end child, early, and forced marriage.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today three major HIV and AIDS awards, funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), to support global efforts to help end extreme poverty by creating an AIDS-free generation. The new programs support implementation of the PEPFAR Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-Free Generation to expand evidence-based HIV interventions, reach and serve populations at greatest risk, and strengthen shared responsibility among all of those affected by HIV and AIDS.

We are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of 298 people, including infants, who were aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. As reports continue to come in, it is clear that we lost close friends in the global health community who were on their way to the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne.

On Tuesday, July 22, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah and U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Catherine Russell will co-lead the U.S. delegation to London to participate in the first Girl Summit hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom. UNICEF will co-host the event.

The Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development partners announced the 52 finalists today in its fourth global call for innovative ideas to protect mothers and newborns in the poorest places on earth during their most vulnerable hours.

Today, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah announced more than $210 million to conserve nature in more than 50 countries, including an anticipated $40 million to combat wildlife trafficking, as a first measure in the Agency’s first-ever Biodiversity Policy.

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As announced by the White House, President Obama will host the U.S. - Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, August 5 and Wednesday, August 6, 2014. This historic summit, the first of its kind, will bring leaders from across the African continent to the nation's capital and further strengthen ties with one of the world's most dynamic and fastest-growing regions. The theme of the Summit is investing in the next generation.

The Governments of the United States and Chile today expanded their trilateral cooperation partnership to promote economic, institutional, and social development in the Caribbean. The Declaration of Intent was signed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa, from June 29-30 to attend the Partnership for Newborn, Maternal and Child Health (PMNCH) Forum and to launch the first-ever Every Newborn Action Plan that was recently endorsed at the World Health Assembly.

Today, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan closed on its offering of a $1 billion sovereign bond issuance guaranteed by the United States Government. This second loan guarantee reinforces the firm U.S. commitment to the people of Jordan by strengthening the Government of Jordan’s ability to maintain access to international financing, while enabling it to achieve its economic development and reform goals.

More than $600 million in major public/private partnerships and awards with 26 partners to improve maternal and child survival announced

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today that it is realigning $2.9 billion of the Agency’s resources to save up to half a million children from preventable deaths by the end of 2015—refocusing resources on high-impact programs with proven track records to save the most lives

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Governments of Ethiopia and India, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners, will come together today for the high-level forum, Acting on the Call: Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths. Dozens of global health leaders from governments, faith-based organizations, civil societies and the private sector offered their comments on the progress achieved and challenges ahead to save millions of women and children from preventable deaths.

Today the United States announced nearly $51 million in additional humanitarian aid to support those affected by the ongoing conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR). This new assistance brings the total U.S. humanitarian funding for the crisis to nearly $118 million in Fiscal Year 2014, helping people suffering inside CAR as well as refugees in the neighboring countries.

In a major show of support for girls’ education and empowerment around the world, nearly 30 artists and athletes, as well as a host of global non-profits and businesses have joined with the U.S. government to launch Let Girls Learn. The new effort aims to elevate a conversation about the need to support all girls in their pursuit of a quality education.

On Wednesday, June 25, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah, with co-hosts the Governments of Ethiopia and India, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners, will host Acting on the Call: Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths. The forum will unveil new efforts to save an unprecedented number of women and children by 2020 in 24 priority countries. It will also announce adoption of bold reforms to improve effectiveness and efficiency at the Agency.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., Cooperative Coffees, Starbucks, and Root Capital, today launched the Coffee Farmer Resilience Fund to leverage $23 million in financial assistance for more than 40,000 coffee farmers combating the devastating coffee rust outbreak in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 2012, coffee rust has affected more than two million people in Latin America, causing an estimated $1 billion in economic damages which could lead to 500,000 job losses.

Affected Latin American and Caribbean farmers to receive financial support and training to stabilize coffee industry

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., Cooperative Coffees, Starbucks, and Root Capital, today launched the Coffee Farmer Resilience Fund to leverage $23 million in financial assistance for more than 40,000 coffee farmers combating the devastating coffee rust outbreak in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 2012, coffee rust has affected more than two million people in Latin America, causing an estimated $1 billion in economic damages which could lead to 500,000 job losses.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah today announced $10 million in additional U.S. support for Ukraine, largely for corruption fighting measures. The support furthers the U.S. Government’s commitment to fighting corruption, especially with stakeholders and in areas not previously addressed, by helping Ukrainians develop institutions and mechanisms to better monitor how their government is working for them.

Today in Bangui, an airlift of vital relief supplies—blankets, kitchen sets, hygiene kits, and water buckets—arrived to help Central Africans in urgent need in Bangui and Ouham-Pendé, an area of northwestern Central African Republic virtually unreached by humanitarian aid since the escalation of violence in December.